Jones wins Atty. General nomination, Hashmi claims Lt. Gov. nod in Democratic primary

The Democratic field now appears to be set for the November election.

Jay Jones won the Democratic nomination for Attorney General, besting Shannon Taylor.

And in the crowded, 6-way race for the Lieutenant Governor nomination, Ghazala Hashmi claimed victory in a very close race. The race between Hashmi and Levar Stoney was within the margin for a recount late Tuesday night, though Stoney's campaign would have to pay for the effort if he requests it.

J. Miles Coleman at the University of Virginia says the regional coalitions made that election a squeaker.

"Going into the LG race, one of the wild cards was how Northern Virginia was going to vote. And we have a situation where Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun all backed separate candidates," Coleman noted. "So that was kind of the story of the night right there."

Jones and Hashmi will join Abigail Spanberger at the top of the party’s November ticket.

Jennifer Victor at George Mason University says the turnout numbers indicate that Democrats are energized heading into the fall.

"We're looking at overall vote totals here that are pretty similar to what we saw when we had governors on the primary ballots in 2021 in a similar contest. So to get this governor-level turnout in a lieutenant governor race tells me there is a fair amount of energy in the Democratic voting base," Victor said Tuesday night.

Republicans set their slate earlier this year: Winsome Earle-Sears for governor; John Reid for lieutenant governor and Jason Miyares for attorney general.

Complete election results from the Va. Dept. of Elections

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.